TEN @ MIA: In or out? Pt. 1

Maybe you have heard a rules analyst mention this unusual term: the “goal line extended.” Here is an example of that peculiar interpretation in action.

Tennessee’s Tony Pollard is cut off from the end zone by two Miami defenders. That should be commended as good defense.

Instead, because Pollard is able to bonk the pylon as he goes flying out of bounds, he is awarded a touchdown. That’s because the pylon, even though it is 100 percent out of bounds, is considered part of the goal line. If you hit it, as if it is a target at a state fair arcade game, you win the big, big prize: six points.

Pollard lands a foot or more out of bounds, yet he is considered “in” the end zone. It’s a ruling that makes the end zone extra wide, meaning defenders have an extra-wide area to protect.  How weird is that? Hocus Bogus Rating: 4.5

NE @ SF: In or out? Pt. 2

Here’s a great effort by San Francisco’s all-everything linebacker Fred Warner, running pell-mell during an interception return. Not as noticeable is the long-distance, cross-field chasedown by Patriots’s running back Antonio Gibson (4), a tenacious effort that enables Gibson to push Warner out of bounds as he nears the goal line. That’s good hustle.

Warner lands fully out of bounds — feet, hip, elbow, backside — taking out the pylon in the process. Yet Warner is awarded six points because he is ruled to have apparently broken the goal line’s plane even though Gibson’s shove sent him flying over out-of-bounds airspace. Exciting play, curious result. Rating: 4.5

CLE @ LV: In or out? Pt. 3

On a fancy double-handoff, the Raiders’ Tre Tucker runs wide left. So wide that he never gets into the end zone. Cleveland safety Ronnie Hickman (33) forces him to the sideline and bops him out of bounds.

Tucker flattens a pylon but never touches the designated scoring area, an example of the truly bizarre “goal line extended” interpretation coming into play. Tucker gets six points for banging into an object that is 100 percent positioned out of bounds, yet he never touches the end zone. Score one for curious logic. Rating: 4.5

JAX @ HOU: In or out? Pt. 4

This one is close. Just as Jacksonville wide receiver Christian Kirk nears the goal line, Houston safety Jalen Pitre (5) shoves him sideways. A split second before Kirk’s left foot touches the goal line, his right foot skids out of bounds. We say first contact on a scoring play must occur in bounds in the end zone. Thus to us, this is a Nix Six. Rating: 2.5